


Grocery Shopping

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:02:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22244539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack picks up some groceries for Alex, who is too sick to do it himself.
Kudos: 1





	Grocery Shopping

“Hello?” Jack asked into the phone, muting the show that was on the TV.  
“Hey Jack, it’s Alex,” Alex said on the other line in a raspy voice.  
“Oh, hey man, did you go to the doctor? Did they say you have the flu?” Jack asked.  
“Well, no, they actually said that I tested positive for mono, which explains why I feel so wrecked,” Alex replied.  
“Oh shit, I knew you were struggling the last few days of tour, but I didn’t think it’d be that bad,” Jack replied.  
“Yeah, I’m glad we have a couple of months off from touring, I need to use all of that time to rest. I feel like I got hit by a truck,” Alex said.  
“Damn dude, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want me to come there and try to help you?” Jack offered.  
“That’s actually why I called you. I really need some stuff from the grocery store, but I don’t have the energy to go, and I don’t want to spread this shit, anyway. If I texted you a list, do you think that you could go for me, then bring everything to my house?” Alex asked.  
“Yeah man, absolutely. What store should I go to?” Jack asked back.  
“Nowhere in particular, I guess. Maybe Kroger, it’ll probably be the cheapest. Oh, and I’ll pay you back for all of it,” Alex explained.  
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll go to Kroger now, then head to your house. Don’t die on me while I’m out,” Jack joked, laughing some.  
“No promises, man. I’ll send the list, thank you so much, Jack,” Alex replied, hanging up the phone. Jack put on his shoes, then grabbed his keys and wallet as he felt his phone vibrate. He saw a text from Alex, which was the list of things that he needed. It wasn’t very long, and it also wasn’t very specific, but Jack figured that Alex was too worn out to really elaborate on things.  
He got in his car, then drove to the Kroger that was by his house. After parking, Jack went inside and grabbed a cart. He set his phone on the top part of it and pulled up Alex’s list.  
The first thing on it was soup, and Jack decided that he should get some canned, and some that was fresher, since he was in the deli section of the store. He went to the cooler that had chilled soup, and grabbed a couple containers of chicken noodle, and made a mental note to himself to grab cans when he got to that part of the store.  
The next thing on the list was crackers, so Jack went a few aisles up before finding a shelf stacked high with crackers.  
“Hm, generic or name brand?” Jack asked himself as he looked at the shelf. After a minute, Jack decided on the generic ones, because the box had a cute cartoon on it.  
Next, there were some drinks on the list, so Jack went to the next aisle over. Once he parked his cart, Jack grabbed the case of ginger ale that Alex had requested. Next, he went to the sports drinks. Alex had said to only get a few bottles, but Jack grabbed two different flavored twelve packs, and put them into his basket. He knew Alex really liked Gatorade when he felt bad, so he figured that getting extra would be smart.  
Next on the list was rice, so he went to the part of the store that had a bunch of different kinds of rice, and immediately felt very overwhelmed.  
“Since when are there so many types of rice?” Jack mumbled to himself. He went to Google what kind of rice was best for sick people, but his service wasn’t working great, so he decided to figure it out by himself. He saw a fifteen pound back of brown rice, and decided on that, since it sounded healthy. He also picked up a box of Spanish rice, figuring that Alex could have it once he felt a little better.  
He went a bit farther up the aisle and saw the cups of instant mac n’ cheese. It wasn’t on Alex’s list, but it was just pasta and milk powder, surely it’d be fine. He grabbed ten cups of the Star Wars macaroni, knowing how much Alex loved those movies.  
The next aisle up was all of the canned food, making Jack remember that he needed to get more soup. He looked at all of the options and felt more overwhelmed than he did when he was looking at the different kinds of rice. He grabbed more cans than he could count, unsure of what Alex would want and be able to eat.  
The next things on the list were tissues and straws, and Jack figured that these things would be close together in the store. He walked a little further, then found the aisle with all of the paper products.  
“These are perfect,” Jack said, smiling as he put a pack of tissues covered in cartoon guitars into his cart. The straws were down the next aisle, and Jack picked the bright neon ones, hoping the color would brighten Alex up some. Next to the straws were the fire logs and starter sticks, and Jack thought that Alex might want to have a warm fire, since it was February in Baltimore.  
The last two things on the list were a couple of different medicines, and a thermometer. He made his way to the pharmacy area of the store but got distracted when he passed by the frozen desserts. He saw a bunch of popsicles, and grabbed some, knowing that Alex usually liked them when he was under the weather.  
After this, he picked up all of the different kinds of medicine that Alex asked for, then went to where they kept the thermometers. Jack found some normal ones, but then found a kid’s one with a dog on it, and decided on that one, laughing as he put it into his cart.  
He started to walk to the cash registers, but got sidetracked as he passed the seasonal section, that was currently decked out in pink hearts for Valentine’s Day. He noticed all of the stuffed animals and got an idea. After looking through all of them, he found a stuffed dog that had hearts on the paws, and put it into his basket, thinking that Alex could use a buddy to help keep him company.  
Deciding that he was done shopping now, he went to the self-scan machines, and scanned everything through. He paid about forty dollars for everything, which he decided wasn’t too bad, considering how much he’d gotten for that price. He put all of the bags in his car, then put the basket in the return in the parking lot.  
After a short drive, he arrived in Alex’s driveway. There were only a few bags, so he was able to get them all inside in one trip. He pulled out his copy of Alex’s house key, deciding that Alex would probably be too weak to get up and answer the door.  
When he walked in, he heard gags coming from the living room. He set the bags down by the door, and quickly walked in the direction of the sound. He finally walked into the living room, and saw Alex on the couch, under a few blankets, holding a hand to his mouth as he continued to gag. Jack noticed that the waste basket by the door was empty, so he grabbed it and ran it over to Alex.  
“Hey man, use this,” Jack said, helping Alex sit up some. Jack started to rub Alex’s back as he continued to gag over the wastebasket. After a few minutes, Alex stopped after not getting sick. Jack put the wastebasket on the floor next to him, and helped Alex lay back down on the couch.  
“I’d ask you how you feel, but I guess that was pretty telling,” Jack said, sitting on the other end of the couch.  
“Sorry you had to deal with that right as you walked in. I’ve been having waves of nausea all day,” Alex replied.  
“Don’t apologize, I came here to help you. Have you actually gotten sick at all?” Jack asked his friend.  
“Thankfully, no. I feel so weak that even if I did, I probably wouldn’t even be able to get up and go to the bathroom,” Alex replied.  
“Oh damn, you are really sick,” Jack said.  
“Mono isn’t a joke, it fucking sucks,” Alex said with a cough.  
“It seems like it. Oh, let me get all of the stuff I bought for you!” Jack exclaimed. He got up and grabbed all of the bags he’d put by the door and brought them into the living room.  
“Did I really ask for that much?” Alex asked, surprised by how many bags he was seeing.  
“Well, no, but I picked up a few extra things,” Jack replied.  
“I see. Did you get the thermometer? I want to take my temperature,” Alex requested.  
“I did, let me find it,” Jack replied. After looking through a couple of the bags, he found what he was looking for, and gave it to Alex.  
“A dog? Isn’t this for kids?” Alex asked with a laugh.  
“I thought it was cute and that it might cheer you up some,” Jack replied.  
“It certainly did, thanks, Jack,” Alex said, turning it on.  
“100.8, not too bad, I guess. What else is there?” Alex asked.  
“This bag has all of the medicine you asked for. As far as soup goes, I got you some of the chilled stuff from the deli, and I also got you some in cans. There were a lot of options,” Jack explained.  
“I’m glad you got a lot, I don’t plan on going to the store anytime soon,” Alex replied.  
“Next, neon straws to brighten you up some, and tissues with guitars on the box, because it’s literally perfect for you,” Jack said with a smile.  
“I love that, thanks man. What’s in the big sack?” Alex asked, pointing to a bag on the floor.  
“Well, I didn’t know which rice you wanted, so I got a fifteen pound bag of brown rice, and a box of Spanish rice that I thought you could have once you were feeling a bit better,” Jack explained.  
“I’ll never have to buy rice again,” Alex said with a laugh.  
“Not a bad thing! So, these things weren’t on your list, but I got you instant mac n’ cheese and popsicles. I don’t know if you can or even want to eat them, but you’ll have them to look forward to for when you’re better, at the very least,” Jack stated.  
“I’m too cold for popsicles, but I’ll have them when I can. I love the Star Wars noodles, but I can’t really eat that yet, but I’ll definitely be looking forward to them,” Alex said, smiling. Jack ran the popsicles to the freezer, then came back to continue his haul.  
“Oh, so I also got you starter logs. I figured that you’d be cold and would enjoy a fire to warm up to some. We can make one today, or whenever,” Jack explained.  
“I’m freezing my ass off, so I really like that idea. What’s in the last bag?” Alex asked.  
“Oh, so I want to be here to take care of you as much as possible, but I figured that you could use a buddy for the times that I’m not. They have all of the Valentine’s stuff out, so I got you this,” Jack said, giving Alex the stuffed dog.  
“I love this, thank you, Jack. I was feeling a bit lonely earlier, so this is really awesome. How much do I owe you for all of this?” Alex asked.  
“Nothing,” Jack replied.  
“Nothing? Dude, I don’t want you to pay, I’m the sick one who needed all of this, I don’t want to burden you with the cost of everything,” Alex replied.  
“Alex, don’t worry about it. Like I said, I want to help you and take care of you, and this is part of that. It wasn’t even that much, anyway. It’s on me, don’t stress about it,” Jack insisted.  
“Well, if you’re sure. Thank you so much,” Alex replied.  
“No problem. Want me to make a fire?” Jack offered.  
“I’d love that,” Alex replied. Alex snuggled his new toy as Jack quickly made a fire. Once he was done with the fire, Jack sat on the end of the couch, and scrolled through the TV menu, selecting an episode of South Park.  
“Thank you for all of this, Jack,” Alex said with a cough.  
“Absolutely, if you need anything, just let me know. For now, focus on getting better,” Jack replied. They exchanged smiles, then started to watch their show, happy to be with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So, I've had this story written for about two months now, and I wrote it because of my job! I'm a cashier at a grocery store (Kroger specifically), and I came up with this idea during a super boring shift. I have a super personal story going up tomorrow, it's about something that really shaped me into who I am, and I'm nervous in a good way to share it with you! It's similar to Drug, in the sense that it's my exact experience, but through ATL. I hope you guys liked this story, and please send in requests if you have them!! Lots of love, Liv.


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